Something to Look Forward To
by Kailey Hamilton
Summary: "Miyako didn't even realize that the Sagrada Familia was just an excuse. She didn't have to know. Not yet, at least. She didn't have to know that Ken was only there because everything had changed when she left. That the Miyako-sized hole left in his life was too deep to ignore." [LAST EVO/KIZUNA SPOILERS]


_Notes: This is just pure self-indulgent fluff. Loved writing it, I hope you all love reading it!_

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**Something to Look Forward To**

"I can't believe it's your first time inside the Sagrada Familia."

Miyako didn't care about history or architecture, but she was drawn to beauty. And Ken had always supposed that the sunlight filtering through the Sagrada Familia's stained glass windows would fit her definition of beauty... and yet, she'd never bothered to go in. She acted so indifferent, he even offered to pay for her ticket. But even if she'd wanted to act cool, the awe in her expression betrayed her.

"I never felt like it was worth the long lines or the crowds, or waking up early to avoid them both." He opened his mouth to answer, but she was quicker, her brow furrowing as she crossed her arms. "Don't say it, and don't look at me with that smug face of yours. I can tell I was wrong."

He let out a soft laugh.

"Alright," he conceded, but then added, "I'm not going to say that I told you so, then."

"Then I'm not going to say that you should've invited yourself over and gotten us tickets sooner, if you were so certain I'd want to see it."

"I'd expect you wouldn't need me for that, as you have been—"

"—living here for the past six months, yes, I know." It was her turn to appear smug. "So if I were to look at your browsing history, wouldn't I find that you spent last night—well, _this morning_ in your time, reading up on Barcelona and the Sagrada Familia?"

Ken wasn't going to tell her, but that's exactly what she would find.

"You can always do your own research."

"But it's so much more fun to hear it from you!"

"So you only care because I care."

"Are you saying that's not a good enough reason?"

His heart skipped a beat, the compliments hidden within her banter too evident to ignore any longer. This was how Miyako always disarmed him, so effortlessly, so unassuming… there couldn't possibly be any self-awareness in it. No. She didn't even realize that the Sagrada Familia was just an excuse. She didn't have to know. Not yet, at least.

She didn't have to know that Ken was only there because everything had changed when she left. That the Miyako-sized hole left in his life was too deep to ignore. That she had been reckless in the battle in New York, and he could have lost her, and many of his decade-old nightmares were giving way to more recent fears.

She didn't have to know, so he pushed those thoughts away and started speaking about the basilica—which was not the same thing as a cathedral, as it turned out—and mentioned a few facts he'd found interesting. Miyako took pictures of the features he spoke of, and a few selfies of them both, but otherwise, getting her attention was surprisingly easy considering how little he knew her to care. Well, it was always easy to be around her. It was easier to be around her than not to be.

It was easy, so easy, and if Ken kept talking about the Sagrada Familia, he would have to stay focused. He could avoid letting himself be struck by how pretty she looked in that yellow summer dress, enhanced by the ethereal space they were in, and how he suddenly felt so whole after all these months...

Miyako listened, and asked questions, and Ken could have never imagined that the Sagrada Familia would be a topic to last them for as long as it took them to explore it. They wanted to rest, but they weren't quite ready to leave, so they walked up to the last row of the pews, which were still empty enough at that time in the morning.

"It's such a shame money is an issue," Miyako said as she plopped down. "It shouldn't have taken this long to complete a building like this one..."

"I don't know. Most of these big European churches were built over a long stretch of time."

"Well, but that was because they didn't have the technology we developed in the last century… and there was a massive plague going on, wasn't it?" A wave of affection washed over him. That's something he'd told her the time Daisuke dragged them both to Vienna. He never doubted she'd listened to him, but it was nice to have confirmation.

"Spain fought a civil war, too… but there's something fascinating to me about how long it has taken. There is a completely different set of people alive in the world than there was when construction started. That's an interesting legacy, don't you think?"

He almost regretted asking, because she would surely think him silly—

"That's kind of cool, actually." She laughed. "See? I told you. You're more fun than Google."

"More fun than Google. Now that's a compliment."

Ken had expected an answer, but Miyako wasn't fully listening anymore. She was looking at something on her phone. While she'd been great at mostly keeping it away, it still stung that she would let herself get engrossed by it when he'd come all this way—

"It's definitely prettier on the inside." A closer look revealed that she was reviewing the pictures she'd taken. She stopped at one of them, her ever-present smile growing bigger, and showed it to him. "Look. This is a good one."

It was a selfie of them, with a colorful window peeking behind. A trained eye could have read between the lines of that picture and understand just how much Ken had been enjoying himself. Perhaps it was a good thing his trip through Digital Gates was of dubious legal status. She would otherwise upload it for the world to see. And he was ready to be honest with her, but everyone else could wait. Worst case scenario, no one else would even have to know. Miyako wouldn't be in Japan for another four weeks.

That gave him a month to pretend to move on.

And Miyako… well. He hadn't noticed when she took the picture, but her hand was resting on his shoulder, pulling him ever-so-slightly closer. Seeing the complete joy in her face made every feeling Ken tried to push down bubble up, making his throat feel tight. So he said nothing, fearing his voice would shake if he dared to speak.

"I'll send it to you," she said as he pocketed her phone, after he stared for a second too long. "I wish I could post it online. It's already one of my favorite memories here, and I've been having such a great time…" she sighed. "I don't really want to go back."

She said it casually, as an afterthought, but her words pierced his heart with a painful sting. He'd come here to tell her how much he wanted her by his side. All she had to say was that she was happy here.

"Could you stay?"

"I could stay for another semester, but it wouldn't count toward my credits. That was always the deal. No. I'm going back. I have to go back."

Ken wanted to resent her honesty, but he couldn't. Miyako had every reason to feel the way she did. The complete freedom that she had away from everyone she ever knew did wonders for her. She thrived in the slower, merrier rhythm of her life in Spain. She'd mentioned taking a bigger courseload than she was required to, yet she had time to spend with friends, to party, to travel whenever she wanted.

Miyako had never been a troubled person, but Barcelona had made her the happiest he'd ever seen her. And now the dream was going to end and the bubble was going to burst.

"Is there nothing you want to go back for?"

Ken was hoping to get her talking about things she was looking forward to… but maybe she could read him better than he ever suspected. Instead of perking up, she cocked her head to one side and gave him a sharp stare.

"You just want me to say that I've missed you, don't you?"

He shrugged, hoping that the tingle he was feeling on his cheeks was not a blush. But he hadn't come all this way to lie to her.

"Maybe."

"Well, I have missed you, Ken. It's just…"

She looked away, her gaze now fixed on the altar.

"I have to go back. My entire life is there. And I don't want to be away from you all when Hawkmon…" She shook her head vehemently, as if pushing that thought away. No rings of light had appeared on her phone, but it was natural that she would fear. "Well. There are things I don't miss and thatI don't want to go back to. I've spent my entire life thinking I want a particular life for myself, but now… now I'm not really sure."

"What do you want, then?"

"Right now?" Her eyes found his, any traces of wistfulness tucked away where he couldn't reach anymore. "If I could take everyone and everything I love and have you all here… that's what I actually want."

Miyako shared so much of herself, it was easy to pretend there was nothing else left after she spoke. But eight years of friendship were more than enough to know when she was deflecting his questions, and when he should let her. After all, he understood her well enough to know that there was little he could say. She just needed him to listen, not to offer advice or a solution. He couldn't ease her worries when they weren't unfounded. All he could say…

All he could say was what he'd come here to say.

Ken had always been told that being in love was the sort of thing he would recognize the minute it happened, but there had been no turning point. Miyako had always been there, and then she'd left… and suddenly, he couldn't remember ever feeling anything else. It was as if this had always been the path he'd been on, from the very beginning of their friendship.

It was the truth. The language barrier gave him more than enough privacy in such a public place… and either way, there wasn't such a thing as the right time, or the right place, and sometimes it was better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.

"Miyako… this might not mean much right now, but I have missed you too. Nothing is quite the same without you." He paused, half-hoping she'd say something, but her eyes were fixed on him, listening, waiting. He forced himself to keep facing her as he added, "there might be things you don't want to face back home, but those who love you are also waiting for you. I… I'm waiting for you."

His words hung in the air between them. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and for a second it looked like she was going to say something. But then she turned away biting her lip, running a hand through her long hair and letting it fall in a way that would hide her face from him. She was flustered, so he knew his meaning had come across…

...And as silence set in, as if she were waiting for him to say more, it dawned on him that said meaning was not unwelcome.

"It may be selfish of me," he continued, his chest filling with the sort of courage he had been desperately reaching for, "but I want you to find something to look forward to, and I want you to come back. We'll have time for everything, and I'll take you to all your favorite places... if you let me, that is." He scratched the back of his neck. He was getting flustered too. "You don't have to give me an answer now, but—"

"Ken, I… I know I never said anything, but I didn't think it was a secret either." She brushed her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear carefully. Her red cheeks and the tremor in her voice were now impossible to miss. "Of course I'll let you, but this one was on you, so the next one is on me."

She finally looked at him after she said that, her eyes twinkling, her smile sincere. Trying to read her was taking up his attention, so he was startled when her hand found his. His heart pounded in his chest as if it were going to break away, but even then… even when it took him a few seconds to process what she'd said, and his blood was burning with contained emotion… Even when relief had washed over his limbs, followed by glee of a sort he'd never felt… even then, Miyako made things easy. Too easy, even.

"In that case," Ken said, turning his hand lightly so he could hold hers more comfortably, "it is around dinner time in Japan…"

Miyako laughed so sincerely that he couldn't keep himself from staring. She didn't quite seem to mind.

"You're in luck, then." She got up without letting go, as if beckoning him to come after her. Which he did. He had no other option, but either way, he'd follow her anywhere. "This is one topic that I have made extensive research in. It's my turn to show off... Though at this hour, you'll get only breakfast… is that okay, or would you prefer to wait until lunch?"

Something in her tone made him reconsider his answer. He _could_ wait, but...

"Did you even have breakfast?"

"No," she admitted, "and I'm starving."

"You were never going to wait until lunch, were you?"

"Hey, who said we can't have both?"

"Will both be on you?"

"If that will get you to stay, I'm not going to say no."

Ken was only joking, and Miyako's overly pointed tone told him that she knew, but she had also made the conscious choice to take him seriously. And as usual, her candid way of showing him affection melted him.

"I was going to stay anyway," he said, but then added, "it's a shame you can't take that back now."

"I'm not going to try... but when I go back to Japan, you better take me to that place Hikari chose for Takeru's birthday. She sent me the pictures and… well, I know her pictures make everything look better, but everything did look so good…"

"We'll go there. I made you a promise, didn't I?"

They were out the door now, the blazing summer sun greeting them. For Miyako, it was a brand new day... and for Ken, it somehow felt like such.

She squeezed his hand, grinning.

"Right. We'll have time for everything."


End file.
